Copper leaching in the mining industry presents many complexities and inconveniences, both with respect to the processes employed and with respect to the effects generated by the same. More in particular, the industrialization of this process in the mining field has called for the use of sulphuric acid as leaching agent, thus generating a particularly harmful due to its high contaminating capacity. At the same time, said acid is especially hazardous for people that must carry out operations and work where the acid is used. Furthermore, its use does not allow to reuse again the water utilized in the process, thus generating additional costs and a larger contamination, due to its waste materials. In another aspect, the leaching method currently used in mining makes it impossible the efficient recovery of the copper mineral left in the leaching piles, rendering this process inefficient, and as indicated, with high associated costs. Thus, and considering what is known in the state of the art, it is possible to observe that copper leaching in the mining industry is complex, costly, highly contaminant and up to date, with inefficient results.
Currently, copper continues to experiment an important demand, which is considered to continue growing, not only due to the multiple fields wherein the metal can be used, but also due to its utilisation potential for various and continuous technological and industrial developments, in sectors such as electronics, computing, communications, pipe production, solar panel productions, automotive industry, energy and power transfer, among others, making copper one of the most required metals. Thus, it is really important to have efficient and effective processes for copper production regarding: lowering costs, avoid environment contamination, bring enhanced operation security and optimize its production capacity, which is of great importance for the mining industry and, in consequence, for the world economy.
Taking in account what has already been indicated, some of the processes that have been used up to date for copper ore leaching will be described:
i) Ammonia leaching
ii) Thiourea leaching
iii) Use of sea water and Saltpeter
iv) Leaching using acids
v) Sulphuric acid and water leaching
Several factors have caused that these processes do not reach an optimal standard in production and efficiency, notably, among others, their high implementation costs, operational complexity and high environmental impact. In fact, due to its highly contaminating capacity and its high toxicity, the ammonia leaching process has not been able to thrive successfully in the industry.
Leaching with thiourea, a product developed on the basis of organic substances mixed with sodium cyanide has not been consolidated either in the mining industry, as it is highly aggressive with the environment.
The leaching process using Saltpeter and sea water, on its turn, hasn't been used successfully due to the low purity of the copper liquor obtained, as it suffers from an excessive salt crystal formation.
In turn, the leaching using acids, pure or mixtures, for example hydrochloride acid, nitric acid, or a mixture thereof, also known as aqua regia, has been used to dissolve noble metals such as gold and silver, is extremely aggressive, toxic and highly expensive. It is only used at laboratory level. Finally, the leaching using sulphuric acid (H2S04) with water (H20), corresponds to a satisfactory process whereby almost the whole of copper leaching is carried out in the mining industry. This procedure, that makes it possible to obtain copper cathodes starting with copper oxide ore, is initiated with grinding and classifying the ore from the mine, then moving it to leaching piles, ore that has previously been ground, classified and impregnated, piles that are irrigated with a sulphur acid solution, and water (with a controlled acidity that is determined depending on the characteristic mineralogy of the mining site and that usually with a pH between 1.5 and 3.0) thus producing soluble copper sulphate. Said acid leaches copper along with the other minerals occluded in the head ore, known as impurities. Once the residence time is finished in the leaching piles, the first result is an impure copper liquor, wherein iron and other minerals in suspension are present. This copper liquor is subjected to a process stage known as solvent extraction, that allows the purification and concentration of the copper liquor in an aqueous phase, that is then denominated rich solution. This solution, rich in copper is forwarded to accumulations tanks from which is pumped to an electro-deposition plant, where by using an electro-chemical process the metallic copper is deposited (cathodes) after a predefined residence time, thus obtaining a suitable weight to harvest, wash and commercialize them as high purity copper cathodes. Finally, once the leaching pile has finished its cycle, the pile is discarded.
There are several problems that can be observed for this process. First, and due to the use of sulphuric acid as a leaching agent, this process results highly toxic and contaminant. Second, the use of this acid calls for the implementation of machinery, devices, equipment, supplies and materials particularly resistant to acid attack, thereby highly expensive, considerably increasing the production costs. Third, the operation risks are high and the consequences in case of accident are particularly serious for operators and workers. Fourth, the solvent extraction step increases the accident risk due to the use of an extraction agent (comprising aldoximes and ketoximes, or similar elements) that mixed with liquid paraffin (or kerosene), generates toxic and flammable gases that create a permanent hazard in the workplace. As a matter of fact, this step on its own causes a set of complexities and inconveniences related, among others, with security, high investment costs (specially related to the extracting agent used), implementation and training, all of which, as it will be shown, can be avoided by the present invention. Fifth, the process currently used is inefficient from a production point of view due to the high percentage of material loss. As a matter of fact, and as indicated previously, once the leaching pile used in the process has finished its production cycle, it is discarded, thus losing the copper oxide ore left in it. This loss prevents the recovery of 100% of the mineral due to a lack of penetration of the sulphuric acid in the rocks, which cannot be re-ground because of the presence of free acid contained therein. Consequently, the discarded mineral in the leaching piles is carried to dumps, representing a loss of approximately 30% of the mineral contained in the pile, among which, in addition to occluded insoluble copper (copper sulphide), there are noble metals such as gold and silver, that can also be useful. Sixth, in addition to said loss, it is not possible to recover the water used in the process due to the build-up in ferric sulphate as a contaminant, and thus is discarded to a tailings dam with a free sulphuric acid content, with the impurities. Seventh, the lack of a possibility to recover said wasted materials, bears an important damage to the environment because the remaining sulphuric acid keeps impregnated in the abandoned mineral. Furthermore, and in accordance with the preceding description, along with this loss, other than diminishing the productivity of the process, it is highly contaminant and hazardous due to its potential spreading to the surrounding populations and along with the winds, the rain waters and the underground waters, affecting in this way the crops, the flora and fauna of the ecosystem and in general, all the environment. As mentioned before, this is the process with which the copper leaching is currently, and almost totally, carried out in the mining industry. As a consequence, the fact of this process, along with bearing high investment costs, is productively inefficient, operational hazardous, and deteriorates the environment, carries considerable problems to the copper leaching, and therefore, being able to rely on a system that allows rendering better and optimizing said process, has a particularly relevant industrial and economical importance.
Consequently, and as known in the state of the art, in the mining industry currently it does not exist a process that allows the leaching of a copper ore in an efficient, not hazardous and consequently does not deteriorate the environment. In other terms, the known processes for the leaching of copper in the mining industry bear a set of problems and inconveniences that cover various critical fields, but the solution of which is possible by means of the invention in this application.
The present invention solves all of the inconveniences previously described, invention that comprises a unique process wherein a specially developed copper leaching agent is used, agent composed by tricarboxylic acid (C6H807) in combination with water (H20), in a ratio that permits an acidity between a pH of 1.0 and 5.0; leaching agent to which sodium benzoate (C6H5COONa) or (E211) can be added as preserving agent, which acts to inhibit micro organism proliferation, and which maximum ratio is between 0.05% and 1.00% of the specified solution.
Consequently, the process does not damage the environment, producing in the leaching process a copper citrate that, further more, is not corrosive. This characteristic is specially important because in producing copper citrate, the process allows the recovery of the water that has been used in the production process. Furthermore, by means of this method, the implementation costs are reduced because the materials used do not require an extreme resistance to highly corrosive products or elements, as it happens when sulphuric acid is used, because the proposed leaching agent, as the copper citrate produced, are not corrosive agents.
As a matter of fact, devices such as impulsion pumps, fluid transportation pipes, cut and control valves, electrolyte contention ponds, clothes and working supplies (such as coveralls, goggles or gas masks), accumulation tanks, floor toppings, roof covers and supporting structures—among others—must fulfill highly demanding characteristics in relation with acid resistance, thus leading to elevated investments costs, all of which is now avoided, and saved thanks to the process published in this application.
Likewise, this process implies a significant improvement in operational safety. As a matter of fact, due to its design and characteristics, toxic gases are not generated, and thus it is possible to walk freely by every place in the mining workplace. Furthermore, said improvement is also evident as for the absence of the risk of burning accident with acids that could affect the operators and general workers, making of this process one of the most reliable and safe for copper leaching in the mining industry. In turn, the elements, the design and the steps contemplated in the process of this application, along with the specific qualities of the leaching agent used, make possible carrying out a selective copper leaching. This characteristic is particularly relevant, because as it does not dissolve iron, it makes it possible to omit the solvent extraction step. Consequently, the procedure is capable of eliminating one of the steps that, up to now, and as indicated previously in this application, generates some of the more important inconveniences for copper leaching in the mining industry, all of which are solved because de copper citrate obtained without the presence of iron in this concentrated soluble state, allows the elimination of said step, making it possible to continue immediately after the leaching step to the electro-deposition step, thus solving the described problems, and allowing in turn the obtention of metallic copper cathodes in a more safe and efficient way with respect to all that is known in the mining industry.
In turn, the process described in the present application allows obtaining high levels of productive efficiency by means of the recovery of mineral already worn out/exhausted mineral of the leaching piles by using a re-grounding consisting in a humid grinding wherein the leaching agent previously indicated, which makes it possible to enhance by 30% or more the soluble copper production and to recover the noble metals (gold, silver and platinum), as well as the copper sulphates. Furthermore, the process of the present application makes it possible to optionally obtain, by means of a step subsequent to the leaching piles recovery, a copper precipitate, thus enlarging the range of possible products that can be obtained by means of this process.
Finally, and as another additional advantage, the process described in this application makes it possible in turn to recover the used process water, which in turn makes it possible not to use the tailings dams, that besides having a high cost, generate a high environmental impact.